My Mask Again
by CaptainJerkFace
Summary: Heero and Trowa have left for a mission, but they don't come back. Duo thinks he knows why, and is once again forced to wear his mask of happiness. Read and Review!


Um...kinda dark.....yeah...that's about it...  
  
The clock ticked on and on, as the endless night passed. It was dark, no moon was out, and he could see nothing but darkness past the curtains of the kitchen window. His cobalt eyes flicked up toward the clock, which seemed to have stopped, for more time then that must have passed. The young 16-year-old pulled his long hair back and braided it again, as he would do if he were nervous and alone. That's just what he was at this moment...nervous, and alone. Quatre's mansion had never seemed been so quiet, and never so large. The minutes passed on like hours, and the hours like days. Duo's cobalt eyes glanced up to the clock again, which read only 3 minutest later then before. The clock now read 3:15. Duo shifted in his seat as he pulled his glass of water to his lips. Duo set his glass of water down, and glanced at the clock again, 3:16. His eyes then looked outside, no moon, and such a dark night. The perfect night for an assassination, which was what now probably going on. After all, that had been the mission. Duo was worried, because this had been a mission for more 2 people, though only 2 went. Duo had wanted to go. After all, he was the God of Death. But Heero for some reason wouldn't let him go. Duo had been mad, but now he realized there must have been some reason he didn't want Duo along. Same with Trowa, Trowa didn't want Duo, Quatre or Wufei along for this mission. Duo had all kinds of thoughts racing through his head. He became dizzy, and sleep finally overcame him, his head hit the table with a soft thud, and he was asleep.   
  
"Duo..." a soft voice said as Duo felt his solder being shaken.  
  
"nani?" Duo said groggily as he slowly raised his head from the table and sat up.   
  
"Heero and Trowa..." the soft voice of Quatre said sadly.  
  
"They came back okay?" Duo asked as he stretched his arms above his head to wake him up. The sun was just now rising.   
  
"Um...they...well...er...ah..." Quatre stumbled over his words.   
  
"Nani?! What happened? Were is Heero?" Duo said as he stood up from his chair so quickly that it fell backwards. Duo had a look of anger on his face. "WHAT HAPPEND??! Why aren't they back!?" Duo yelled through gritted teeth.   
  
"They..er..ah..." Quatre mumbled his head bowed.   
  
Duo stood tall over the young Arabian and shook him desperately by his shirt collar as he yelled, "WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY BACK????!!" Duo took out his anger on the poor blonde. Duo felt a tear come to his eye as he let go of Quatre's shirt and let his hand fall to his side. He backed against the wall and fell back against it, sliding to the floor, all the while a spaced out look on his face. "I...I knew it..." Duo mumbled to himself. "I..I never should have let them go..." Duo said as he looked at the ceiling and felt the tears come to his eyes.   
  
"They could be okay..." Quatre said hesitantly, trying to cheer Duo up.  
"I know you cared for Heero..." Quatre said gently.  
  
"No...I knew what they were up to..yet I did nothing. I thought Trowa and Heero weren't the type anymore to leave their comrades, their friends. I thought things might be okay," Duo said as his voice cracked. "But no...I should've known. Heero, was my best friend since Solo, he reminded me of him...and...now...he's gone too. Trowa as well, was one of my comrades, and...they...all die. All of them. Why?" Duo said as he lowered his head and felt the tears stream down his cheeks. Once again he had been helpless to help save his friends lives.   
  
"You...knew?" Quatre asked.  
  
"I could tell it was a suicide mission. Why else would they not want us along? Unless they are that way, which I know they aren't. They just didn't want their friends to stop them from committing suicide. "DAMNIT! I should've gone. Why didn't I?? WHY??" Duo said as he turned to face the wall and pounded his fists into it yelling. "WHY??" Duo's fist slid down the wall as he crumpled into a slump. "Damnit...damnit...DAMNIT!" Duo said as he continued to pound the wall, "WHY GOD DAMNIT!!????"   
  
"Duo," Quatre's soft voice barely cut through his pounding. Quatre's voice tried to remain calm as he continued, "Two bodies were found dead by the lake last night..."  
  
"DAMNIT QUATRE!!!! Why didn't you tell me that before?!" Duo said as he turned away from the wall, and sat up. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks that glistened, from the tracks the tears had made.  
  
"I..." Quatre was lost for words, "I...thought it would be best to not tell you, gomen, sumimasen, Duo, I'm really sorry."  
  
Duo stood up, and tried to look his normal self, only with out a smile. "Quatre, I understand, I just wish you would have told me sooner," Duo said, trying his best to keep the tears away.   
  
"I...gomen..." Quatre said bowing his head and letting it hang, as soft sobbing was heard.  
  
Duo walked over to Quatre, and placed his hands on his shoulders firmly. "Quatre...." Duo said, he didn't know what to say. Duo scanned his mind for something comforting to say to the blonde boy. "It's okay to cry Quatre...Trowa...he.... maybe we should just get some rest. You wouldn't want Wufei to wakeup and see you like this...he'll just call you weak," Duo said, adding to himself, though he's never had any friends, so he wouldn't know what it feels like to lose them. Duo lifted up Quatre's face from its chin, and looked at the poor boy. "Come on, get to bed," Duo said smiling, and shoving the noble of the desert from the kitchen.  
  
"Thanks Duo," Quatre said, trying to smile, as he looked back. "You get some rest too," Quatre said whipping the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his pink shirt. Quatre walked slowly up the stairs and to his room, maybe some rest would do him good, or just crying in his pillow.   
  
Duo picked up his chair from the floor where it had fallen. He sat down and rested his head in his hands. "why..." his voice whispered. 'Why must they all die? It's just not fair...why? They all die, get killed, commit suicide...why? Heero...your life wasn't that bad, unless there is much you never told me. Damnit...Heero told me what he loved so much about me was that I could be so cheerful despite everything. Hn, wish he could see me now. I've gotta keep on my mask though...or else poor Quatre will never be able to forget. I'll just keep wearing my damn mask...that mask that everyone loves. Duo the cheerful, fake. Sure, I'm really happy some of the time. Okay, a lot of the time, but so much of it, it's all just a mask, I don't want them to go trying to get into my memories. They are for me alone. If I stay cheerful, no one will ask questions, or wonder, like they did with Heero and Trowa. So, I'll just continue to smile, to hide my true self, and my past. Hiding, that's all I ever seem to do. I'm hiding from myself. Oh God, help me.' Duo raised his head up toward the ceiling and pounded it down on the table.  
  
"Weak Maxwell, weak," a voice said from the doorway.  
  
"Itai..." Duo said, thinking to himself, 'here goes, gotta wear my mask again. This will by far, be my best performance.' Duo lifted his head with a grin on his face and cheered, "Yo! Wufey! What's up Wu-man?!"  
  
"Do not continue to call me that, Maxwell. Or else maybe you would like to acqaint your braid with my Katana?" Wufei asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Um...hee hee.." Duo scratched his head nervously. "I like my hair cut fine right now, thanks anyway, Wu-man...er...Fei," Duo said as he jumped up and grabbed a bowl from the cudbord. Duo continued to pour himself a bowl of lucky crams and began to dig in as Wufei rambled on about how disgusting those sugary things are.   
  
"Well I like them! Okay?" Duo said shoving a spoonful into his mouth, then sticking his tongue out at Wufei.  
  
"Disgusting, Maxwell, disgusting and weak, that's all you are," Wufei said as he got himself a glass of orange juice.   
  
Another time one is fooled by my mask...always. Why can't they see through it? Am I really as good an actor as Heero...was?   
  
And yeah!! That's it for now...please review. Should I write more? Finish it? Or just let it sit in my file and rot? Let me know, kay guys? Thanks!   
~Kari  



End file.
